Men's Soccer Defeats Iona In Season Opener, 3-1

Aug 29, 2008

NEW ROCHELLE,
N.Y.  The Quinnipiac men's soccer team opened the 2008 season
with a 3-1 win over the Iona College Gaels on Friday afternoon.
Graciano Brito (Sao Nicolau, Cape Verde) scored two goals for the
Bobcats in the win and junior Shane Recklet (Shelton, Conn.) scored
the game-winner in the 80th minute as Quinnipiac scored
three unanswered second half goals for the win.

Ben Williams
scored the first goal of the season for the Gaels in the
43rd minute as Iona took a 1-0 lead into the half. Tonna
Egbuchunam was credited with an assist on the goal after starting
the play at midfield.

Brito, the
2007 NEC Player of the Year, scored the Bobcats' first of 2008 just
over ten minutes into the second half to tie the score at 1-1. He
dribbled past two defenders from 30 yards out before beating the
goalkeeper to the lower left corner of the net.

Recklet scored
his first goal of the season off a corner from Pierre Soubrier
(Aurignac, France), heading the ball past Iona's Nils Binstock into
the upper right corner of the net. The goal gave the Bobcats a 2-1
lead with just over ten minutes remaining in the game.

Brito put the
game away in the 85th minute when he took a touch pass
from Rodrigo Uchoa (Brasilia, Brazil) and beat Binstock for his
second of the game. Uchoa waited for Brito to beat the defender on
the right side of the field before sending a pass behind both the
defender and the goalkeeper. Brito was able to slide the ball into
the net at a difficult angle after getting behind the Iona
defense.

Freddy Hall
(St. George, Bermuda) picked up his first win of the season,
recording six saves in the effort. His four stops in the second
half helped keep Iona off the scoreboard as Quinnipiac took the
lead on three second-half goals.

"This is a
great start for us," said Head Coach Eric Da Costa. "I am happy
with the result and I think we showed great character to come back
in the second half after being down at halftime. We played well for
a majority of the game and that is a great way for this team to
start the season."

The Bobcats
return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 3 when they host the New
Jersey Institute of Technology in their home opener at 4:00 PM at
Bobcat Field.